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#Mario
When Nintendo does HD, my god do they do it right.
If you’ve played any recent edition of Mario Kart, you pretty much know what to expect from Mario Kart 8. Nintendo has added a few new wrinkles to give the racing more depth and, of course, a set of 16 new tracks (and 16 remastered ones), but the vast majority of the experience has carried over from Mario Kart 7. There’s no question that Nintendo is justified in not fixing what ain’t broke, but it would’ve been nice to see them not only polish the gameplay and graphics to a sheen, but shake-up the single player formula, offering a product that’s a bit more robust than its 3DS counterpart.
Nearly a hole in one.
After Mario Tennis Open, I was a bit weary of the next Mario sports game to hit the 3DS. It looked the part, but it didn’t have the same heart and soul of past entries in the series. Thankfully, Mario Golf: World Tour has restored my faith in the series as it carries that undeniable charm and addictiveness that makes the Mario sports games so enjoyable. However, it’s not without its share of ugly blemishes, namely a thin single player mode that feels like it was chopped in half for the sake of DLC – something I never would’ve expected from Nintendo.
Babysitting with Yoshis – 2014 edition.
I’m the type of guy that doesn’t think its fair to compare one game to another, but in the case of Yoshi’s New Island, an exception has to be made. It’s the second follow-up to the SNES classic, Yoshi’s Island, and Yoshi’s Island is a very tough game to top. On the positive side, Yoshi's New Island does a lot of things better than the previous entry in the series, Yoshi’s Island DS, like getting rid of the annoying baby-switching mechanic and doling out some clever levels. On the other hand, it adds some new, underutilized mechanics, disappointing boss battles, and turns a definitive ability into a shallow gyroscope mini-game.
Halloweenerds!
Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to listen to. Something like this extra-large edition of Nerds Without Pants, Halloween-style!
Quite possibly the most FUN game at NYCC.
I feel like Super Mario: 3D World has looked better each time I’ve seen it. After getting to try it, this remains true. 3D World plays it safe by remaining very similar to the 3DS outing, but many refinements to the level design and gameplay are apparent. Mario and the crew have individual specialties, like Peach’s floating ability and Toad’s extra speed. There are also extra moves that are at their disposal. If you twist the analog stick in a circle, you do a spin move which is not only cool to watch, but it’s effective against enemies.
Or: The Great GTA Debate
It's a shorter episode of Nerds Without Pants this week. That's either a blessing or a curse depending on your feelings on the Pantsless Ones. Life got in the way of our normal show format, but that's probably a good thing since you're all playing Grand Theft Auto V right now anyway.
Wii U and 3DS owners have a lot to be happy about.
Nintendo has always been a company that dances to the beat of its own drum. While Sony and Microsoft have been duking it out since 2001, Nintendo has been content to stay the course, remaining profitable while leveraging their wildly successful franchises. It shouldn’t have been surprising, then, when the company announced that they would not be doing a traditional E3 press conference this year, but instead would be issuing one of their very popular Nintendo Direct streams. What was shown was light on surprises, but pure Nintendo, through and through.
